HOUSTON GRAND OPERA
www.houstongrandopera.org
David Gockley, General Director
Acclaimed Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Makes his Houston Debut in
RIGOLETTO
October 19 - November 4, 2001
Verdi’s Macabre Jester Returns in
Houston Grand Opera’s Season Opening Production
2001 - 2002 Season Opens on Friday, October 19, 2001
The Houston Grand Opera 2001 - 2002 Forty-Seventh Season will open with VERDI'S RIGOLETTO with Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as the mean-spirited hunchbacked jester. RIGOLETTO Opens on Friday October 19th and runs through November 4th, 2001. All performances are held in the Wortham Center's Brown Theater, Texas at Smith. RIGOLETTO is sung in Italian with English surtitles.
Houston, TX - Houston Grand Opera launches its 47th Season on Friday October 10, 2001, with a revival of its production
of RIGOLETTO. Verdi’s masterpiece tells the tale of the mean - spirited jester RIGOLETTO, brought to life by the famed
Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in his Houston Grand Opera debut.
(L-R) Rigoletto (Dmitri Hvorostovsky), young Gilda (Elizabeth Kaufman)
Making her Houston Grand Opera debut, American soprano Laura Claycomb will sing RIGOLETTO’s innocent, young
daughter Gilda, who falls in love with a stranger who is actually her father’s liege, the Duke of Mantua, performed by Italian
tenor Roberto Aronica in his HGO debut. American bass Raymond Aceto debuts as Sparafucile, the assassin RIGOLETTO
hires to murder the licentious duke, American mezzo - soprano Stephanie Novacek (Jo March in Little Women, 2000)
returns as Maddalena, and George Cordes sings Monterone in his HGO debut.
(L-R) Gilda (Laura Claycomb) cradles Giovanna (Angela Niederloh) with Rigoletto (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) in background
American director Frank Corsaro (Hansel and Gretel, 1997) will put a new spin on HGO’s classic Renaissance production
with sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Peter J. Hall, and lighting by Paul Pyant. Priscilla Nathan-Murphy will
choreograph the production, and Music Director Patrick Summers will conduct the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and
Chorus.
(L-R) Rigoletto (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) and Gilda (Laura Claycomb)
Says Maestro Summers, “It is an immense honor to welcome our distinguished international cast, especially my colleague
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, whose Houston performances of RIGOLETTO mark his United States debut in the role.”
RIGOLETTO opens on Friday, October 19, 2001 at 7pm (Please note early curtain time for Season Opening). Further
performances are on October 21m, 24, 27m (alternate cast), 27, 30, November 2, and 4m at 7:30pm and 2pm.
(L-R) Rigoletto (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) and Gilda (Laura Claycomb)
At the October 27 Family Matinee performance, Chinese baritone Chen - Ye Yuan, a former artist with the HGO Studio,
leads the alternate cast, including former HGO Studio mezzo - soprano Nicole Heaston as Gilda, American tenor Shawn
Mathey as the Duke of Mantua, and current HGO Studio bass Oren Gradus as Sparafucile. Head of Music Staff Richard
Bado conducts the alternate cast performance and prepares the HGO Chorus for all performances.
ABOUT THE OPERA:
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
DMITRI HVOROSTOVSKY (RIGOLETTO) was born in Siberia and is one of the most highly acclaimed
baritones of the day, praised internationally for his appearances int he world’s leading theaters. He made his western operatic
debut at the Nice Opera in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, and his career rapidly expanded to include regular engagements at the
Royal Opera House, Munich Opera, La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Hvorostovsky
appeared as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Salzburg Festival and in the title role in a new production of Don
Giovanni. His repertoire includes the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Figaro in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville,
Germont in La Traviata, and Francesco in I Masnadieri. Mr. Hvorostovsky has given recitals at most of the major
international venues, including Queen’s Hall, Carnegie Hall, and La Scala, as well as recital appearances in Barcelona,
Moscow, Hong Kong, Vienna, Seoul, Jerusalem and Australia. He has recorded Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death
with Valery Gergiev and the Orchestra of the Kirov Opera. Mr. Hvorostovsky starred in Don Giovanni Unmasked as both
Don Giovanni and Leporello, which aired on PBS and television networks worldwide in the fall of 2000, earning international
critical acclaim. This is Mr. Hvorostovsky’s debut with Houston Grand Opera.
Laura Claycomb
American soprano Luara Claycomb (Gilda) first captured international attention in 1994, stepping in at the last
minute to perform Giulietta in I Capuleti e I Montecchi with Geneva Opera, a feat that garnered instant recognition and critical
accolades. She reprised this role in her debuts with the Opera Bastille in Paris, the Munich Radio Orchestra, and Los Angeles
Opera. She has performed Gilda in Rigoletto at Opera de Lausanne, Opera Bastille, New Israeli Opera, and Teatro
Municipal de Santiago de Chile. Ms. Claycomb began her career with an Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera and has
been highly acclaimed for her performances of bel canto roles as well as fo her appearances in baroque and modern
repertoire. In the baroque realm, she has sung Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare in Montpellier and Drusilla in L’ incoronazione di
Poppea at the Netherlands Opera, among other roles. In the field of modern music, Ms. Claycomb made her debut at the
Salzburg Festival in Peter Sellars’s new production of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre, reprising the role of Amanda in the same
production at the Theatre du Chatelet. Ms. Claycomb is originally from Dallas; this is her professional debut in her home state.
Courtiers surround Rigoletto (Dmitri Hvorostovsky)
Young Italian tenor Roberto Aronica (Duke of Mantua) made his RIGOLETTO debut at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago
de Chile. Since then, he has sung Rodolfo in La Boheme, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Alfredo in La Traviata. He
made his United States debut with San Francisco Opera in 1993 singing La Boheme to high critical acclaim and was
immediately re-engaged for La Traviata there for the 1995 - 96 season. He resumed his role in La Traviata for his
Metropolitan Opera debut in the Franco Zeffirelli production in 1998 and also sang La Boheme that year with Mirella Freni in
Japan. Recent engagements have included Lucrezia Borgia in Bilbao, La Rondine and L’Elisir d’Amore in Torino, and La
Traviata in Berlin, Hamburg and Zurich. Mr. Aronica has also sung with Toulouse Opera, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, and
debuted in Simon Boccanegra in Chile last year.
(L-R) Gilda (Laura Claycomb), Duke of Mantua (Roberto Aronica)
American bass Raymond Aceto (Sparafucile) made his debuts at Montreal Opera and Santa Fe Opera as Sparafucile and
also debuted at Netherlands Opera in Rigoletto as Monterone. Of his performance as Leporello in Don Giovanni, the
Washington Times wrote, "…Aceto was the first voice heard and will certainly be the last forgotten…his booming bass gave
immense musical pleasure." He returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago last year as Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and sang
Titurel in the Metropolitan Opera's Parsifal opposite Plácido Domingo. He debuted at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as the High
Priest in Nabucco, and he has since sung there in Macbeth, Les pêcheurs de perles, and Rise and Fall of the City of
Mahagonny. He concluded last season with a return to San Francisco Opera for Carmen and Madama Butterfly. He will
appear as Pistola this spring opposite Bryn Terfel in Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera in performances led by James Levine.
(L-R) Monterone (George Cordes), Monterone's daughter (Rebecca Pueringer), court ladies surrounding Rigoletto (Dmitri Hvorostovsky)
Former Houston Grand Opera Studio mezzo-soprano Stephanie Novacek (Maddalena) recently appeared as Jo March on
WNET/PBS's Great Performances national broadcast of Little Women, a role she created for the opera's 1998 world
premiere of Little Women while an artist with the Houston Grand Opera Studio and which she reprised in HGO's triumphant
remounting (2000) for the television broadcast. She returned to Houston last season to sing Ottavia in The Coronation of
Poppea and the title role in alternate-cast performances of HGO's season-opening production of Carmen. Other appearances
include Enrichetta in I Puritani for Washington Opera, the Page in Salome for Opera Company of Philadelphia and Cincinnati
Opera, Dido and the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas with the Mark Morris Dance Group, and Baba the Turk in The Rake's
Progress for Wolf Trap Opera. Ms. Novacek represented the United States in the 2001 Cardiff Singer of the World
Competition.
(L-R) Maddalena (Stephanie Novacek), Duke of Mantua (Roberto Aronica)
Recently, George Cordes (Count Monterone) appeared with New York City Opera as Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Colline
in the "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast of La Bohème, and Celio in The Love of Three Oranges. He has performed with
Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Dallas, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland Operas. He has performed in The Merry
Wives of Windsor, as Scarpia and Angelotti in Tosca, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Timur in Turandot, Figaro in The Marriage
of Figaro, Selim in Il Turco in Italia, Caspar in Der Freischütz, and the Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffmann. This role marks
his debut with Houston Grand Opera; he will soon take Monterone to the Metropolitan Opera for his debut there as well.
The October 27,2001 matinee performance will feature former and current artists of Houston Grand Opera Studio—HGO's
internationally acclaimed training program—in the leading roles. Former Studio baritone Chen-Ye Yuan returns to HGO to
sing Rigoletto, following last season's alternate-cast performances as Escamillo in Carmen. Mr. Yuan recently sang Friedrich
Bhaer in the WNET/PBS Great Performances broadcast of Little Women. American soprano Nicole Heaston, also a Studio
alumna, will perform the role of Gilda; she appeared as Musetta in the New York City Opera production of La Bohème
televised nationally earlier this year. American tenor Shawn Mathey will make his Houston Grand Opera debut as the Duke of
Mantua, and current Studio bass Oren Gradus will perform the role of Sparafucile.
This season marks conductor Patrick Summers's fourth season as Houston Grand Opera's music director. He is known for his
diverse operatic experience and enthusiasm for a wide range of works including period scores, bel canto, late romantic opera,
and contemporary music. In addition to the two world premieres he has conducted for HGO—Cold Sassy Tree (2000) and
Resurrection (1999)— he has led performances of La Traviata, The Elixir of Love, Little Women, Nabucco, Così fan tutte,
Florencia en el Amazonas, and Don Carlo. Currently principal guest conductor of the San Francisco Opera, he has been
closely associated with that company since 1989 and has conducted a vast repertoire there ranging from Monteverdi's
L'Incoronazione di Poppea to Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. He conducted a recording for Philips featuring Dmitri
Hvorostovsky (our Rigoletto) and Olga Borodina. Maestro Summers has also enjoyed a close association with Opera
Australia in Sydney. This year, he will conduct the European premiere of André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire with the
Opéra National du Rhin.
Stage director Frank Corsaro most recently directed HGO's 1997 Hansel and Gretel and directed the Maurice Sendak
production of The Magic Flute (1980). He has served on the Juilliard faculty since 1987 and currently is the artistic director of
The Juilliard Opera Center. Mr. Corsaro has been associated with New York City Opera for productions of The
Makropulos Case, The Cunning Little Vixen, and Dido and Aeneas (in collaboration with George Balanchine and Peter
Martins). Recent productions include La Traviata in Baltimore, Faust in Chicago, and Eugene Onegin in New York. Mr.
Corsaro served as artistic director of the Actor's Studio from 1977 to 1985 in New York City.
Set designer Michael Yeargan, a native of Dallas, is an associate professor of stage design at the Yale School of Drama and
principal designer for the Yale Repertory Theatre. He is no stranger to Houston Grand Opera, having designed the world
premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree (2000), Nabucco (2000), and Madame Butterfly (1998) for Houston. Other
world premieres include John Harbison's The Great Gatsby for the Metropolitan Opera, André Previn's A Streetcar Named
Desire for San Francisco Opera, Central Park for Glimmerglass and New York City Opera, and Heggie's Dead Man
Walking for San Francisco Opera. Work on Broadway includes Terrence McNally's Bad Habits, The Ritz, Hay Fever, Athol
Fugard's A Lesson from Aloes, and The Gershwins' Fascinatin' Rhythm.
British costume designer Peter J. Hall has worked with the Kirov Opera (La Forza del Destino), the Royal Opera House
(Otello, Simon Boccanegra, and Stiffelio, all directed by Elijah Moshinsky), and the Metropolitan Opera (La Bohème, Tosca,
and Otello, all directed by Franco Zeffirelli). He also has designed for La Scala, the Vienna State Opera, Rome Opera,
Teatro Communale in Florence, and Australia Opera in Sydney. In the United States, Mr. Hall designs for Los Angeles
Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and others. For Houston, he has designed Macbeth (1973), Salome
(1977), and La Bohème (1996). He is the resident costume designer for Dallas Opera, for whom he has designed scenery
and costumes for over forty operas since 1960.
Lighting designer Paul Pyant's award-winning design credits encompass opera, theater and ballet. For Houston Grand Opera
he designed lighting for the world premiere of Sir Michael Tippett's New Year (1990), Tosca (1996), the world premiere of
Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas (1996), Julie Taymor's production of The Flying Dutchman (1998), The Elixir of
Love (2000), Don Carlo (2001), and the remounting of Florencia en el Amazonas (2001). He is a graduate and associate of
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has had a long association with Glyndebourne Opera. Recent operatic
credits include productions for the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, La Scala, English National
Opera and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. His theater awards include a Tony nomination for Best Lighting for Arcadia and a
Critics Circle Award nomination for Carousel.
Choreographer Priscilla Nathan-Murphy is originally from Singapore and trained in classical ballet at the Royal Academy of
Dancing. She was a 1998 recipient of the Individual Artist Fellowship Award for choreography and the 1992 Creative Artist
Award for choreography - Cultural Arts Council Houston/Harris County and City of Houston. She has been on the faculty at
the Houston Ballet Academy (the official school of the Houston Ballet) since 1985 and also teaches at the High School for the
Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and Texas Institute for Arts in Education. Her choreography has been featured at the
Houston Ballet Academy, and she is working on future projects with the Jewish Community Center and the Houston Ballet.
As Houston Grand Opera's Head of Music Staff and Chorus Master, Richard Bado has prepared choruses for over 95
productions. He made his professional conducting debut in 1989, leading HGO's acclaimed production of Show Boat at the
newly restored Cairo Opera House, and has conducted for several HGO mainstage productions including Così fan tutte, The
Tales of Hoffman, The Magic Flute, and Carlisle Floyd's Susannah. He has conducted at La Scala, the Opéra National de
Paris, the New York City Opera, the Edinburgh Festival, and in Tokyo. An accomplished pianist, he has appeared in recital
with Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Ramon Vargas, and Marcello Giordani. Mr. Bado also serves as music director for the
Houston Grand Opera Studio.
Performance Dates:
Friday, October 19, 2001 at 7:00 p.m.*
Sunday, October 21, 2001 at 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 27, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. (alternate cast)
Saturday, October 27, 2001 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 30, 2001 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 2, 2001 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 4, 2001 at 2:00 p.m.
*Please note early curtain time for Season Opening.
All performances of Rigoletto are held in the Wortham Center's Brown Theater, Texas at Smith. Rigoletto is sung in Italian
with English surtitles-English translations projected over the stage.
The Southwestern Bell Pre-Curtain Lecture Series takes place thirty minutes before each performance. Guest speakers
present a twenty-minute informal lecture on the sixth floor of the Grand Foyer. These lectures, free and open to all ticket
holders, are intended to enhance the audience's enjoyment by preparing them for the production they are about to attend.
The Wortham Theater Center features easy wheelchair access to both theaters, with a choice of seating locations and ticket
prices. An infrared listening system, generously underwritten by Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, is available and free of
charge at all performances. Please call HGO Subscriptions at (713) 546-0246 or 1 (800) 346-4462 for details. Descriptive
services for persons with vision loss are available with 48-hour advance reservations. Please call HGO Education and
Outreach at (713) 546-0708 for details.
The Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation is the Grand Guarantor for Rigoletto.
Conoco is the Guarantor for Rigoletto.
Ticket Information:
· Single tickets for Rigoletto, priced from $18 to $225, are now on sale. Tickets are available by telephone at (713)
227-ARTS, out of town at 1(800) 828-ARTS, on the website at http://www.houstongrandopera.org, or in person at
the Wortham Ticket Center located in the lobby of the Wortham Theater Center. Ticket prices include all city
surcharges.
· Student and senior citizen rush tickets are $10 and $25 (depending on seat location, one ticket per ID) and go on
sale at 9:00 am the day of performance or at 12 noon for Sunday performances, subject to availability. Tickets are
sold until curtain but must be purchased in person. To check availability, please call (713) 227-ARTS or 1 (800)
828-ARTS the day of the performance. For weekend performances, call the Friday before the performance to
check availability.
· Call Houston Grand Opera at (713) 546-0200 during business hours for general information.